PRAY FOR SAUDI ARABIA

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by King Abdulaziz as an absolute monarchy ruled by the House of Saud. It is the 12th largest country in the world. 50% of Saudi citizens are under the age of 25. Oil was discovered in 1938, and it is now the world's third-largest oil producer. Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam. Islam's two holiest cities of Mecca and Medina are in the west of the country. Daily, all over the world, Muslims face in the direction of Mecca to pray. Each year, millions of Muslims travel to Mecca to perform the religious pilgrimage of the Hajj.

Millions of people in Saudi Arabia are bound in chains of oppressive spiritual darkness. Saudi Arabia operates under a strict legal system where citizens are legally required to be a Muslim and conversion from Islam is officially prohibited. But the Lord is “mighty to save” (Isa 63:1 ESV). Unprecedented numbers of Saudis are coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. His Saudi children practice their faith in extreme secrecy out of fear of family rejection, social ostracization or state punishment. The current conflict with the "Axis of Resistance" (led by Iran) reinforces the Saudi state's general paranoia regarding internal threats and increases its desire to tightly control religious narratives within its borders. Protecting its status as the guardian of Islam’s holiest sites (Mecca and Medina) remains a core pillar of regime legitimacy. The current environment of heightened security and counter-intelligence results in zero tolerance of home-grown Christian converts and unauthorized, underground churches (Open Doors). But praise be to God, the Lord’s harvest in Saudi Arabia continues to grow.